Warren Easton holds off St. Amant in thriller

Warren Easton holds off St. Amant in thriller

ST. AMANT — Devin Glenn’s 11-yard, halfback-option pass to Terrance Sylvester with 3:07 remaining helped Warren Easton rally for a 31-29 victory at St. Amant in the season opener for both teams.

Glenn also rushed for two scores as the Class 4A Eagles came back after losing an 18-point lead in the second half.

St. Amant quarterback Tyler Dixon rushed for two touchdowns for the Class 5A Gators.

“We were banged up,” Easton coach Antonio Hull said. “We had third-string guys playing for us in the fourth quarter. I’m just happy our JV guys were able to step in, make plays and be successful.”

Easton would not have won it without Glenn, though, who was a force from the start in a see-saw game.

The Gators, clad in white jerseys and white pants at home, fought off a sluggish start to take a 22-18 edge on Richard Williams’ 60-yard run with 1:17 to go in the third quarter.

St. Amant’s defense clamped down on a tired Easton offensive line until late in the fourth quarter when the Eagles regained their mojo.

Two big completions of 19 and 13 yards from quarterback Josh Johnson helped Easton get deep into Gators territory.

Then Glenn shocked the St. Amant defense by rolling right and throwing back to the left to Sylvester, who leaped to catch the easy TD.

After St. Amant went three-and-out and turned it over on downs at its 33, Bracy Gardner sealed with three runs, the final one a 4-yard dash to put Warren Easton ahead 31-22 with 1:23 to go.

The Gators closed it to 31-29 after Dixon’s 4-yard run with 18.6 seconds remaining. But Easton recovered the onside kick with 16 seconds remaining.

“I take my hat off to Easton,” St. Amant coach David Oliver said. “They played a full 48 minutes, and we played about 24.”

Glenn rushed for a 44-yard TD, and Josh Johnson threw a 31-yard pass to Dedrick Shy as Easton led 12-0 in the first quarter. Glenn’s 10-yard TD scamper put the Eagles ahead 18-0 with 3:35 remaining before halftime.

But it took St. Amant just 30 seconds to answer and show a spark.

Dixon moved the ball 65 yards on two quarterback keepers, the last one going for 40 yards. His score pulled St. Amant within 18-7 with 3:05 left in the first half.

Then the Gators defense clamped down, and St. Amant controlled the third quarter. Evan Matheny’s 1-yard touchdown run and Dixon’s 2-point PAT pass to Marquise Williams cut Warren Easton’s lead to 18-15 with 2:33 to go in the third quarter.

Then Williams’ 60-yard run put St. Amant ahead and set the stage for the wild finish.